butterfly and heart craft

i had been wanting addison to color or make something for my granny, but i just didn't know what.

the other day, i just thought up a super easy craft for her to do {and hoped it would turn out cute}.

i googled {don't know if that's a verb, or even a word, but is now} an image of a butterfly and a heart. i think i looked up stencils or something like that. and i picked the ones that looked the simplest. i made them big enough to fill the page {i used photoshop but i'm sure you could use word or something like that}.

i cut them out and then traced them onto construction paper.

then i just cut random pieces of different colored construction paper. i used a glue stick and got the heart and butterfly all gluey, then addison stuck pieces wherever her heart desired.



i cut out a body for the butterfly and glued it on top.

i think they turned out really cute! especially since i just used stuff we had at home. and addison was so proud of them and so excited to give them to granny.

now i'm going to try and think of other cute {cheap} crafts we can do this summer! and i will, of course, share the good ones.

steppin out saturday - 6/25

i'm a few days late. better late than never, right?

this is my first time linking up for steppin out saturday over at harper's happenings!



saturday was a big day.

want to know why?

we went to see elmo! yes, elmo. the big red fuzzy dude addison loves. and some of his friends were there too. like a big yellow bird, a flying fairy, and a grumpy dude that lives in a trashcan. and lots more.

she was so excited, to say the least. who woulda thought? i'll save all the fabulous details for later though.

week in iphone pics

i'm going to try and do a week in iphone pics every week. i take a ton of pictures on my iphone, so i figured i'd share!

i'm linking up with amy at a good life, who came up with the lovely idea!

monday


monday was addison's first day of swim lessons. my mom took her, but i took her picture before she headed out. after, she got to hang out with her furry brother, tybee.

tuesday


tuesday addison went to swim lessons again. when we got back, we made a cute craft for my granny. when we headed to take it over to her, it looked quite nasty out. that night, we went to eat mexican at my favorite, dos margaritas. they have kids night on tuesdays. they have a woman go around to the tables and make balloon animals. this girl is ridiculously good. i wish i had her balloon making skills. we went a few weeks before and addison got a flamingo. this time she got a mermaid. yes, we'll be making this a weekly event.

wednesday


wednesday i only got a picture of ice cream face. addison and i had a lovely mother daughter lunch date. we went out for ice cream after and addison got all messy. good thing she's cute.

thursday


we ventured out to chickfila on thursday for lunch. addison wanted to bring it home, so we had to wait in a crazy long line. and i actually ate chicken (i haven't been eating meat since september. i've had maybe 2 things since. i'm not too serious about it, but i'm trying to stick with it). but, i had a craving for chickfila, so i got me some. i doubt i would have waited in that line if i wasn't dead set on getting some. and it was delicious.

friday


friday was the last day of swim class. i just got a picture of addison on our way. she was chillin with her hello kitty sunglasses on.

well that was fun! i'll try to do this every week from now on :)

swim lessons - day 5

my mom took addison for day 3 and 4, so i wasn't there to take pictures or anything. my mom said she cried some, but each day it seems to be less and less. maybe not that much less than the last, but nonetheless, it's less. that was a lot of lesses.

i went today since it was the last day. addison has been excited to go before we get there, but once it's time to hand her off, she doesn't want to go.



she did fine though. even though she would cry some, she would still float on her back like she was supposed to.

today they got to dive for rings. of course the instructors would go down with them, but all of the kids seemed to like doing that. addison got to go twice and got 1 ring each time.




these swim lessons may not be the normal, parent in the water with the kid stuff. but i know that if i was in the water with her, she wouldn't do anything. she would just cling to me. so this was the best option for us. the instructors are really sweet to all of the kids, and they would talk about mickey and elmo and other silly kids stuff just to engage the kids and keep their minds off of being upset. even though addison cried most of the time, she would still talk about it and would be excited to go back. so clearly it wasn't that bad.

i know i've said i'm going to write about my swim lesson experience, and i promise i will! i'm working on it and it will be one of my first posts next week, so be looking for it!

swim lessons - day 1 and 2

day 1

yesterday was day 1. my mom took addison because i was scared (from past experience), and i just thought it'd be better if my mom took her. and my mom didn't mind.

i was all excited to see pictures and videos of the first day. but my mom didn't even get to see addison swim at all. the main teacher talked to the parents the whole time, so they didn't get to watch. my mom said she heard a few cries, but didn't think any were addison. and addison seemed fine and happy when my mom went to get her, so the lesson seemed to have gone well.

this is the only picture of the day, which was taken right before the lesson started.



day 2

oh, today. day 2. since yesterday seemed to have gone well (but i guess we really don't know), i decided i wanted to go. my mom and i were going to take addison, but chris wanted to go too, so my mom stayed back and chris and i took her.

addison didn't wake up in the best mood. the first thing she said was that she didn't want to go to swim lessons. but we talked about it some, and she kind of warmed up to the idea. kind of.

she had homework, which was to practice laying on her back like she's supposed to in the pool. we did that some on the carpet yesterday and this morning, and she was doing really well. i had high hopes for today.

we got there, and addison didn't really want to go in. as soon as the teachers came out and got in the pool, i handed addison to one and darted away.

and then the screaming and crying started. it wasn't that bad at moments. it was kind of on and off. sometimes a lot of the kids would be crying, so you couldn't tell which was which.

but addison cried just about the whole time.

they put the kids in life jackets so they could float on their backs. addison wasn't too fond of that, but she floated on her back for a while. since the parents/grandparents/whoever brings the kids have to stay hidden, these were the best pictures i got.


you can kind of see her floating. just barely. but she's there.


she sat on the stairs in the pool some, and i think that was when she was calmest.

and for your viewing pleasure, here's a video of today. i took a few videos, and just combined them. i thought it was pretty funny when the guy started crying along with her, because i totally do that sometimes. and then when he says "you're angry", i cracked up. ha. and then she got dunked. twice.



my mom is going to take addison tomorrow, and hopefully it will be better. i guess we'll see. even though addison cried most of the time, she still did what they were telling her to do, so that's good. i just hope she can have fun and not be upset.

i'll do a lesson recap on friday when it's all over. and i'll tell my swim lesson story. it's pretty funny.

wee bit wednesdays

it's a nasty, rainy wednesday. and i have class tonight. boo. but it's wee bit wednesdays, which makes it {almost all} better!


{one} what color best describes you + why?
i'm never good at these! i'd say pale pink. it's a kind of shy and happy color.

{two} how have you changed in the past year?
hmmm. i'm not really sure how i've changed. i think i've started caring more about school, which is definitely a good thing.

{three} have you ever had any surgeries?
i had my wisdom teeth cut out. that's it!

{four} why did you start your blog?
i wanted a place to write about being a mommy and document everything that happened in addison's life. and i'm so glad i did!

{five} what are you looking forward to this summer?
going to the pool A LOT. and hopefully going to the beach!

{six} do you have any family traditions for the 4th of July?
my dad and i used to go to atlanta, but we haven't in a few years. i always loved doing that, and maybe we'll do it again when addison gets a little older.

{seven} what’s something new that you’ve tried in the past few months?
i started straightening my hair again some. that's really the only thing i can think of. it's kind of a new look, but i'm not that big of a fan. it takes more time and it gets messed up easier. i'll stick with curly :)

{eight} what is the perfect a/c temperature?
70ish. i like it to be cold.

{nine} what was the last movie you saw in the theater?
midnight in paris. i wasn't even sure what it was about, but i really liked it!

{ten} what song do you think everyone should hear at least once?
gosh i really don't know. i can't just pick one song. anything by john mayer is amazing.

finally pool time

addison and i went to the pool for the first time this summer a few weeks ago. it's been so hot here lately that being in the pool is pretty much the only way to be outside comfortably.

we've been to the pool a lot these past few weeks, and it's been really nice. hopefully we'll keep going a lot. my goal is to go at least once a week.

we went with my friend mary and baby g, and it was baby g's first time in the pool! so exciting.



addison has done great with her puddlejumper. she sometimes wants to take it off and swim "by herself", which she can't exactly do yet. but i'll take it off and swim around the pool with her.





she starts swim lessons in a week. just one short week before she is traumatized (i'm being sarcastic here).

i'm actually kind of scared about her going, but i know it'll be ok. she's going to the same woman i went to, and i have been slightly scarred for life. it's funny now, but that first day of lessons scared the shit out of me. maybe i'll expand on that later. kind of a funny story. but i learned how to swim, and that's what matters, right?

my mom is going to take her the first day and then if she does well, i'll probably go for the rest of the week. the teacher doesn't allow the kids to see their parents during the lessons, which i think is pretty smart. but there's a little deck that the parents can sit at and not be seen. so i may just do that.

now we're off to the pool for our 1 pool day a week (hopefully there will be more though)!

touch a truck

today was "touch a truck" day at the park close to my house.

i asked addison if she wanted to go this morning, and she said no. so i wasn't going to make her go.

i figured i'd give her another chance, so i asked again a little while later and she decided that she wanted to go.

so we went!



she got to sit in a police car. she tried to climb in the back, but i told her i never wanted her sitting in the back of a police car so i put her up front :)



one of the firetrucks had its huge ladder out. i never realized how high it goes!


addison got to sit in a firetruck too. those things are really high up! the firefighter had to put addison up in the seat. she loved it and didn't want to get down.



the tire on the firetruck was taller than addison...


and then the day turned a little sour. i tried to get addison to stand on the front of the firetruck so i could take her picture, and she just flipped out. she ended up sitting there, but she wasn't happy about it. she threw a huge fit, and i just had to laugh. and take some pictures of the breakdown.





i'm glad addison changed her mind and wanted to go! she had a good time, for the most part. and it gave me an opportunity to take fun pictures!

wee bit wednesdays

i've been kind of MIA the past week. my granny went into the hospital and i've been trying to help out with everything going on, so i haven't made time to blog. i'm not going to go into details in this post, but maybe later. i figured i could do wee bit wednesdays though :)


{one} how many times have you been a bridesmaid/maid of honor?
i was a bridesmaid once. it was in my cousin's wedding a few years ago.

{two} what’s the last thing your do before you fall asleep at night?
check facebook and twitter. it's a habit.

{three} you just won your dream vacation, all expenses paid. where are you going?
some amazing beach at some awesome resort where there aren't many people. white sand beaches with clear water. and i can get tan!

{four} what is your favorite outdoor activity?
i like being outside, but it's gotten so hot the past couple of weeks! addison and i have been going to the pool a lot this past week because we can be outside and be cool! we like playing at the park and going to the zoo too.

{five} as a child, what did you want to “be when you grew up”? did you end up there?
haha well at first, i wanted to be a cashier somewhere so i could scan stuff. i always thought that was so cool (and i worked at a few places where i got to do that. not as exciting as i thought it would be). when i got a little older, i wanted to be a meteorologist. i have always been obsessed with the weather (mainly because i'm scared of storms), and i thought i wouldn't be as scared if i knew what was going on. but i'm obviously not doing that!

{six} what are 3 things your dream home would have that you don’t currently have?
hmmm...a pool, a big kitchen with stainless steel appliances, and hardwood floors...and the list could go on and on.

{seven} what’s for dinner tonight?
i have no idea. my summer classes start tonight so i'll probably just pick something up on the way home.

{eight} if someone stopped by your house unannounced on a typical Saturday night, what would they find you doing?
probably just hanging out at home, working or watching tv.

{nine} what’s your average monthly water bill?
well i still live with my mom, so i have no idea!

{ten} what do you do to relax?
play on the computer, watch tv, or lay by the pool - without addison. i don't exactly get to relax if she's there too :)

another first

today was addison's first dentist appointment.

she knew she was going to the dentist, but she didn't exactly know what was going to happen.

i told her they would play with her teeth, and she was excited about that.

the appointment was at 7:30, which was well before when both of us get up. but she woke up in a great mood and watched disney when we got to the dentist.

they called her back and she went fine. but as soon as it was time to lay in the chair, she freaked out. she finally did though, and she did great! there were a few times that she kinda freaked out, but overall it went really well!!



these were the only pictures i took while we were there. i felt a little weird taking pictures at the dentist office.

addison had no cavities and got to be the first in the no cavity club for june.

she even got a certificate!

and these were my attempts at getting a good picture of addison with her certificate. first, the fake smile...


then a better smile.


she goes back in 6 months and i hope it goes well then too! i'm sure it will. yay for clean teeth!